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Highlights of Mountain Tract’s History
A list of dates and important events concerning Taylor Ranch and the legal battles over it. Starts with 1844 grant by officials in New Mexico, the part of Mexico, to Narcisco Beaubien and Stephen Luis Lee of the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, containing 1 million acres; the grant was confirmed to Beaubien in 1860 by the U.S. Congress. What became the Taylor Ranch was included in Beaubien’s grants. First page only displayed.
Court Document about Apolinar Rael et al. v Jack Taylor, 1981
The original court case was brought by 63 plaintiffs who submitted claim to Quiet Title of the 80,000-acre tract in Costilla County known as “La Sierra”. That case was filed with the District Court of the County of Costilla. Defendant Jack Taylor petitioned for removal of that action to the Colorado District Court, whereupon the plaintiffs petitioned for its removal to the state court. This order, dated July 31, 1981, grants the latter request. First Page only displayed.
Photo of descendants of Hispanic land grant holders at a gathering at Taylor Ranch, 1981
Pictured are land rights leaders Apolinae Rael (3rd from right), co-founder of the Land Rights Council of the San Luis and lead plaintiff in the earlier court cases, and Juan LaCombe (3rd from left). The gathering at the ranch was part of the decades-long battle between the land grant holders, who claimed rights to access and use the land at Taylor Ranch for water, hunting, grazing, and firewood.
Photo of a March by Taylor Ranch Land Rights Activists, 1981
Chicano land rights activists and their families marching to reclaim their traditional rights to land at Taylor Ranch in 1981.
Photo of a Protest at Taylor Ranch by Land Rights Activists, 1981
Chicano land rights activist and their families protesting at Taylor Ranch in 1981 to demonstrate their traditional rights to the land.
Scholarly article about common lands in early land grants, 1985
Placito Gomez, “The History and Adjudication of the Common Lands of Spanish and Mexican Land Grants,” for background. The first few pages only shown here.
Draft Report of the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant Commission, 1993
This report was submitted by the Commission’s members, 18 groups said to be “broadly representative of parties interested in acquiring the Taylor Ranch.” It includes a discussion of the geography and historical background of the property, describes the benefits of public ownership, and presents plans for acquiring and managing the plan. Full report here.
Letter to the editor regarding Gov. Roy Romer’s proposal to acquire Taylor Ranch for the state, 1994
Letter to the editor of “The Chieftain” paper, published in Pueblo, from Robert Copeland of Colorado Springs objecting to Governor Romer’s proposal to acquire Taylor Ranch for public use, Feb, 27,1994.
Article about community effort in San Luis to save land, 1994
“Community unites to save the land, water, and a way of life in the heart of the Southwest; Descendants of Colorado’s first settlers look to nation for support,” from La Sierra (published in San Luis), Vol.I, no 1, Spring, 1994.
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